whats the point of learning this?

What’s the point of learning mathematics?

Samantha Nyikadzino | MathsGenius Leadership Institute (MGLI)

MathsGenius Leadership Institute 2014 ©

• What is the point of this ? When am I ever going to use this? …..just some of the questions I know many have asked about subjects or courses we have to study in school. Many still think most of what they studied in school is irrelevant in their everyday lives especially if someone ends up working in a field that they think is far removed from what they studied in school.


• Most memorised facts not because they would be useful in real life but because that’s what had to be done. But if there was a point to learning algebra, geography, languages, physics and the rest of those subjects we thought were a complete waste of time and would never use again after the books were close, the papers were marked and we had passed and we didn’t have to deal with THAT teacher anymore. Humour me for a moment and say maybe your teacher was right, maybe there was something to his or her “madness” after all.


• Want to ask your boss for a raise, or highlight in a cover letter why you are the best candidate for that job you are applying for ?…. because you learnt to write properly organised arguments when your English teacher asked you to write those “Write arguing in favour of” type of compositions you are capable to make compelling points and support them with facts.


• You know that time when you went to eat out and had to calculate the number of pizzas you could get with the money you had or when you had to calculate how many litres of petrol you could get now from your R100 since the price went up AGAIN…..all the was you solving for x….Algebra.


• Because you have any understanding of the human anatomy, that you learnt in biology lessons, you are able to ask better questions when you have a consultation with your doctor.


• I recently read somewhere that the value of education is not quantified by its immediate use. In those moments of sitting in classrooms and absorbing or trying to absorb all the facts about all that was dished to us on occasion we questioned what was is its importance, why it mattered and what was the point. The point was even though you work in a field that is not directly linked to most of the subjects you did in school you are still able to navigate through life with ease and make better decisions…. because you sat there and solved for x, drew a diagram the digestive system, wrote compositions and studied how Africa was colonised because of that you were empowered.


• “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” - Henry B Adams

• “If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn’t need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.” - Jim Rohn

• “Education makes a people easy to lead but difficult to drive: easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.” - Peter Brougham


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whats the point of learning this?

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